A skier holds her skis as she waits for a bus in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, 2014. / Simon Dawson Bloomberg

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

by Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY

Some will have heard about the World Economic Forum's annual meeting that begins in the Swiss Alpine ski resort of Davos next week. Some won't. But even the most experienced Davos Man - a term coined by the American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington to refer to global citizens who "view national boundaries as obstacles" - may not know the following factoids, courtesy of the World Economic Forum's Donald Armbrecht:

The first annual meeting was held in 1971 with only 500 participants. This year 2,500 people will take part in the 44th meeting.

The first annual meeting lasted 14 days. This year, it runs from 22 January to 25 January.

At 1,560 meters (about 5,100 feet), Davos is the highest city in Europe.

The first and only time the forum's annual meeting took place outside Davos was in 2002, when it was held in New York as a gesture of solidarity after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

During the annual meeting, CO2 emissions in the city of Davos fall on average up to 30%.

Davos has a rich cultural history. Thomas Mann's influential novel The Magic Mountain was set in Davos, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the last seven chapters of Treasure Island in Davos between 1881 and 1882, while the painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner lived in Davos from 1918 until his death in 1938.

During the annual meeting, the World Economic Forum also hosts the Open Forum. Bringing together leaders from government, business, civil society and academia to discuss pressing global challenges, it is open to all.

The annual meeting generates $45 million for the Swiss Economy.

Participants in this year's annual meeting come from almost 100 countries, including over 40 heads of state or government.

The average age of a Davos 2014 participant is 52 for men and 49 for women. The youngest is Umar Anwar Jahangir, a Shaper from the Islamabad Hub of Global Shapers, the CEO of Bahria Medics, a student run social welfare organization, at 21. At the other end of the age range, at 90, is Shimon Peres, President of Israel.